Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

NOG has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Northern Oil and Gas from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Northern Oil and Gas from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Northern Oil and Gas in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Northern Oil and Gas from a buy rating to an underperform rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Oil and Gas has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.30.

Northern Oil and Gas Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NOG opened at $43.07 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.86. Northern Oil and Gas has a fifty-two week low of $29.57 and a fifty-two week high of $43.64.

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $543.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.31 million. Northern Oil and Gas had a net margin of 42.61% and a return on equity of 40.86%. The company’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Northern Oil and Gas will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Northern Oil and Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Northern Oil and Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 2,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $79,344.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 122,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,649,642. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northern Oil and Gas news, insider James B. Evans sold 945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $35,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 83,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,187,136. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Adam A. Dirlam sold 2,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $79,344.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,649,642. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,944 shares of company stock valued at $436,614. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northern Oil and Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Northern Oil and Gas by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after buying an additional 8,709 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $553,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,432,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,850,000 after purchasing an additional 77,537 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $267,000. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Northern Oil and Gas by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 28,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. 98.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Williston Basin, the Appalachian Basin, and the Permian Basin in the United States.